Joseph Johnson, DO

American Medical Student Association

Joseph Henry Johnson, III (also known as Joey) is the current National President of the American Medical Student Association: the largest and oldest organization of Physicians-in-training in America. In addition to this, he writes for numerous publications, works as a non-profit consultant, and politically advocates for minority healthcare access and rural health issues. Before taking charge as the first African-American male President of the 30,000-member organization of AMSA, Joey was elected as the first African-American Class President at his medical school and served as the Student Editor for AMSA’s highly successful magazine, The New Physician.

Joey has always been fond of diversity in any activity, including his studies. As such, he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.95 GPA and earned a total of six undergraduate degrees before pursuing his medical degree. After graduating medical school, he enrolled in a Master’s program for public health, thus working towards his eighth and final degree. His plans are to practice family medicine while also continuing to be very active in the political sphere, and continue his influential writings on political topics.

Being an integral part of the state and national award-winning minority enrichment program in Rome, GA, which facilitates an environment for low-income and minority males to succeed in college, Joey plans to establish other similar programs within struggling and underserved communities in Georgia as well. By doing this, he feels he can best capitalize on his diverse endeavors and create real social change for various communities within which he plans to work, combining holistic medical practices with accessible education for young, minority students.

One of the things Joey has been most proud of is the fact that his social media platforms have really reached the masses and have gained him a large following. His Video Blog and YouTube Channels have had enough traffic that Joey has had to upgrade the traffic capacity three times during the year 2017 alone! His vision for the future is to work in a rural area as a family physician, serving an underserved population, while continuing to advocate for minority and rural access to both medicine and education. After practicing for several years, he hopes to eventually dedicate his time and efforts full-time to public policy and advocacy.